The Academy

Chapter 3

"Simmons, stop worrying, I'm fine," Skye reassured her friend as Jemma watched over her intently as she packed.

"I just want to make sure that you're not over-exerting yourself," she defended.

Skye chuckled and then waved her hands in Jemma's direction, shooing her away. "I'm fine, I can handle packing."

Begrudgingly, Simmons sighed and walked out of Skye's bunk, towards the lounge.

"Giving you trouble?" Ward smirked as Simmons walked in.

"No more than usual," she replied with a small smile, grabbing a beer. She sat beside him on the couch. "But I'll miss her when she's gone."

Ward chuckled. "We all will, she may be a pain in the butt, but it'll be different with her gone."

"A strange, backhanded compliment," Skye shouted from her bunk, "but I'll take it."

Simmons chuckled. "Goodness, what are we going to do for nine months without her?"

"Probably be able to have some peace and quiet for once," Ward answered with a straight face.

There was a scoff heard from Skye's room and Ward smirked.

"So, with your rookie gone, what'll you be doing for nine months?" Simmons asked.

"Probably same as usual, with the exception of taking fifteen minutes to drag her out of bed every morning and then train her," Ward teased.

"I can hear you!" Skye said from the other room, though you didn't need to see her face to know that she was smiling.

"It wasn't a secret," Ward retorted.

"Don't worry, Skye, he's just too much of a robot to admit that he'll miss you," Jemma shouted to her friend.

Ward raised an eyebrow. "Really, you too?"

Jemma only shrugged.

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Skye slowly made her way down the stairs, with Ward behind her carrying her stuff, to say goodbye to her teammates in the cargo hold.

She walked over to them and started with Simmons. She engulfed her friend in a hug. "Thank you so much, Simmons, I wouldn't even be alive right now if it wasn't for you."

Simmons smiled and embraced her friend tightly. "You're welcome, Skye. Have a good time at the Academy. Maybe when you get back you can finally settle the feud on which Academy is better."

Skye chuckled and pulled back, moving over to Fitz. She hugged him tightly. "Thanks for everything you've done to help Simmons save me," she whispered.

"Of course, Skye," he said with a small smile, returning the hug. "Have a good time at the Academy."

"I will." She pulled back and moved down the line to May. She quickly embraced the woman before she could back away and smirked in triumph. "See you around, May."

May nodded with the hint of the tiniest smile. "See you around, Skye."

Skye then moved to Coulson. She wrapped him in a hug, nestling her face in to his shoulder. "Thanks for everything, AC, seriously. You've done so much for me, I don't know how to thank you."

He returned the hug and smiled warmly. "You become the best agent you can possibly be."

She pulled back. "That's the plan."

The team waved goodbye as Skye and Ward made their way to a car parked outside to take Skye to the Academy. Ward put all of Skye's things in the trunk and Skye walked over to him. She moved to give him a hug. "Sorry, but you weren't escaping this one," she teased.

Ward smiled and let his arms fall around her, returning the hug. "I'll see you around, Rookie."

She pulled back and took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she quickly leaned up and placed a small kiss on his cheek. "Later, Robot," she replied, stepping in to the car.

The driver pulled away and she waved to Ward, who gave a small wave back, smirking.

After driving for about twenty minutes, a large building finally came in to view. Skye whistled. "S.H.I.E.L.D. here I come."